Most bot builders, at some time, think about buying
a welding system. There are
dozens of choices out there,
each with their own jargon,
culture, and opinions (think
Ford vs. Chevy!). Trying to make
this easy on newbies (like
myself), we asked several
experienced welders the following
questions:

“If someone needs a
110 volt unit
to do basic
welding on a
hobbyweight
bot, what
should they
buy? What if
someone is
moving into
bigger bots
and wants to
start with a
220 volt unit?
We are talking
about new
builders, so

best value (as opposed to
cheaper) is part of the critera.”

As expected, there were
different answers but after some
quizzing, a few winners emerged.
For the 110 volt class, a used
Hobart Handler 135 appears to
be a great value. This model isn’t
made by Hobart any more, but a
decent used one can be found on
eBay or Craigslist for around